The Crossroads of Destiny
by Mr. Oogie Boogie 94
Summary: This time - it's not Nico going to Hogwarts to destroy the Horcruxes... it's Thalia!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, Oogie Boogie here, to bring you new story with Thalia as our lead character. I've seen billions of stories "**_Nico goes to Hogwarts to destroy Horcruxes..._**", even made one myself, but it's time to bring my favourite Greek demigoddess into Hogwarts. Thalia Time!**

**Featuring:** OC Son of Hecate

**I DO NOT OWN** _Percy Jackson _**SERIES**

**I DO NOT OWN** _Harry Potter _ **SERIES**

**PROLOGUE**

**THE MOST IMPORTANT THING** that Thalia learned, while being a Huntress: Artemis' golden deer is a sign of trouble.

Usually, leading the Hunt is a difficult task - when all the girls are bored, it's the lieutenant who must find new hunting spot, so the knowledge about the regions is really welcome. Apart from that, Artemis actually enjoyed testing her Hunters. They need to prove themselves, that they are skilled with bows, knives, tracking skills etc. And one they, when Thalia went to get some cheeseburgers she has stumbled across a golden deer. That's when she thought it was her test: if she manages to capture the deer, not easy task, Artemis would bless her. Of course she wouldn't get a promotion - she was already a lieutenant, but hunting down the deer would strengthen her position as a vice-leader. So naturally she went after the animal, only to find her two cousins, Percy Jackson and Nico di Angelo, and she was dragged to the Underworld, forced to hunt down one of Kronos' minions and retrieve the sword of Hades. That surely wasn't the test.  
And now, Thalia was just chilling under a tree, thinking about where should she go next, when she saw it again: the golden deer was standing atop of a small hill, clearly waiting for her.  
Oh, not again - she thought. What is it again? Next pseudo-test which turns out to be a mission from another god? Or this deer just wanted to have fun on its own and just annoy Thalia? Whatever it was, she couldn't just ignore it. She went after the golden animal.  
This deer had no sense of direction! It constantly changed paths, suddenly turning left, going up the hill and, when Thalia was at the top, running down.  
"Oh, come on!" she shouted to the animal. "Just pick a direction already!"  
The deer didn't react. It was standing on another hill and was looking forward. Thalia approached him, it didn't run away.  
"What?" she looked at it and then turned her head to face the same direction. A mile away, on the crest of the next hill, a storm had gathered over some old stone ruins - maybe a temple or a fortress. A funnel cloud snaked its way down toward the hill like an inky black finger.  
"Wait, wait, wait..." Thalia's mouth tasted like blood. She looked at the deer. "You want me to go _there _?"  
The golden animal whinnied, as if to say '_Uh, duh!_ '  
Oh well, Thalia thought, no choice then.  
She went straight for the growing tornado.

The storm swallowed the hill in a swirling cone of black vapor. The deer charged straight into it. Thalia found herself at the summit, but it felt like a different dimension. The world lost its color. The walls of the storm encircled the hill in murky black. The sky churned gray. The crumbling ruins were bleached so white, they almost glowed. Even the sacred deer had turned from liquid gold to a dark shade of ash. In the eye of the tempest, the air was still. Thalia's skin tingled coolly, as if she'd been rubbed with alcohol. In front of her, an arched gateway led through mossy walls into some sort of enclosure.  
Thalia couldn't see much through the gloom, but she felt a presence within, as if she were a chunk of iron close to a large magnet. Its pull was irresistible, dragging her forward.  
Yet she hesitated. Wherever she stepped, the grass, dirt, and stones turned white, like frost.  
She hoped this black-and-white hilltop wouldn't dissolve under her, but she decided it was best to keep moving.  
"Let's go, then." She looked at the deer. Her voice sounded muffled, as if she were speaking into a pillow.  
The deer trotted calmly through the stone archway. Ruined walls bordered a square courtyard about the size of a tennis court. Three other gateways, one in the middle of each wall, led north, east, and west. In the center of the yard, two cobblestone paths intersected, making a cross. Mist hung in the air - hazy shreds of white that coiled and undulated as if they were alive.  
Not mist, Thalia realized. The Mist.  
She knew about the Mist - the supernatural veil that obscured the world of myth from the sight of mortals. It could deceive humans, even demigods, into seeing monsters as harmless animals, or gods as regular people. Thalia was one of the demigods able to tame the Mist. Chiron, centaur at Camp Half-Blood, taught her the basics and she could influence some weaker minds.  
However, she had never thought of it as actual smoke, but as she watched it curling around her legs, floating through the broken arches of the ruined courtyard, the hairs stood up on her arms. Somehow she knew: this white stuff was pure magic.  
In the distance, a dog howled. Thalia was sure it was a hunting dog. The deer huffed nervously.  
"It's okay." Thalia said.  
She stepped toward the center of the courtyard. The Mist clung to her like freezer fog.  
"Hello?" she called.  
"Hello," a voice answered.  
The pale figure of a woman appeared at the northern gateway. No, wait…she stood at the eastern entrance. No, the western. Three smoky images of the same woman moved in unison toward the center of the ruins. Her form was blurred, made from Mist, and she was trailed by two smaller wisps of smoke, darting at her heels like animals. Some sort of pets?  
She reached the center of the courtyard and her three forms merged into one. She solidified into a young woman in a dark sleeveless gown. Her golden hair was gathered into a high-set ponytail, Ancient Greek style. Her dress was so silky, it seemed to ripple, as if the cloth were ink spilling off her shoulders. She looked no more than twenty, but Thalia knew that meant nothing.  
"Thalia Grace," said the woman.  
She was beautiful, but deathly pale. Once, back when Jason was still with her and her mother, Thalia had been forced to attend a wake for a dead classmate. She remembered the lifeless body of the young girl in the open casket. Her face had been made up prettily, as if she were resting.  
This woman reminded Thalia of that girl - except the woman's eyes were open and completely black. When she tilted her head, she seemed to break into three different people again…misty afterimages blurring together, like a photograph of someone moving too fast to capture.  
"Who are you?" Thalia's fingers twitched, as she moved to her quilt. This woman radiated power. Everything around them - the swirling Mist, the monochromatic storm, the eerie glow of the ruins - was because of her presence.  
"Ah." The woman nodded. "Let me give you some light."  
She raised her hands. Suddenly she was holding two old-fashioned reed torches, guttering with fire. The Mist receded to the edges of the courtyard. At the woman's sandaled feet, the two wispy animals took on solid form. One was a black Labrador retriever. The other was a long, gray, furry rodent with a white mask around its face. A weasel, maybe?  
The woman smiled serenely.  
"I am Hecate," she said. "Goddess of magic. We have much to discuss."  
"Yes, we do, Thalia." another person walked out of the Mist. She looked around fifteen, with auburn hair and eyes as silvery yellow as the moon, and is incredibly beautiful. Thalia instantly dropped on her knee.  
"My lady." she said, bowing her head.  
"Thank you for answering my call." Artemis smiled.

At the first moment Thalia wanted to run, but her feet seemed stuck to the white-glazed ground.  
On either side of the crossroads, two dark metal torch-stands erupted from the dirt like plant stalks. Hecate fixed her torches in them, then walked a slow circle around Thalia, regarding her as if they were partners in some eerie dance. The black dog and the weasel followed in her wake. Artemis just sat at one of polished, black stone, just observing.  
"May we begin, cousin?" she asked.  
"Ah, apologies, Artemis." Hecate answered.  
She joined the goddess of the Hunt and Thalia raised.  
"I thought one of my children would join us... three would be a perfect number for a quest, but for a moment just two must be enough."  
A quest?, Thalia thought, so it wasn't a test. Again.  
"Hecate asked for my finest huntress." Artemis said, and Thalia found herself blushing. "And the one who can who is at least neutral, when it comes to men. Since you have both qualities, I have decided to choose you."  
"What am I to do?" Thalia looked at Hecate. The goddess was still gazing into the Mist as she was expecting something to come out of it.  
"Lady Hecate?" Thalia repeated.  
"Finally." she said. At first, Thalia thought, she was talking about addressing her as _Lady_, but after a while another figure came out of the Mist. The first thing that Thalia has sensed was a scent - a clear, refreshing scent of peppermint.  
A man has appeared. If Thalia had to guess, she would say he was sixteen, maybe seventeen - around her age. He was a tall man with short, shaggy black hair and black sunglasses covering his eyes, although Thalia noticed some scars around them. He had a sleek, ebony walking cane with carved, silver knob in his right hand. He was wearing an elegant, black frock coat, white dress shirt, regular jeans and brown shoes. On his right hand flashed an old, golden ring with ruby embedded in it.  
"Mother... Lady Artemis," he bowed his head towards both goddesses. Then, he looked at Thalia.  
"Madame," another polite bow.  
"Allow me to introduce Balthazar Blake." Hecate announced. "One of my most talented children. He will be a very appropriate choice for this quest."  
"Don't you have any daughters we could send? Would be a better option." Artemis stated. If Balthazar found that offensive, Thalia didn't notice that. His face was expressing constant state of neutrality, as he was expecting that Artemis would say that. Hecate let out a faint sigh.  
"I do," she said. "But Miranda is already at the destination. She is your third one."  
Black dog wagged her tail, as if the name Miranda brought some happy memories.  
"Anyway," Hecate continued. "I will now explain the details. You see, magic has its own set of rules. One of them is that every magical activity must be separated from the mortal senses by the Mist. And I am the controller of the Mist."  
Thalia nodded. She knew about that.  
"But recently my dominion has been... limited." she said. "Something, or some_one_, is interfering in my barriers and spells. The Mist... it's... fading." Hecate continued. "If this phenomenon keeps on expanding, there will be no boundaries between magical world and mortal world. Monsters, gods, demigods, everything will merge into one, chaotic dimension."  
Thalia looked at Balthazar. The sorcerer was more interested in tracing the movement of a weasel and waving his cane around, for the rodent to catch.  
"Come on, Gale, you can do it." He smiled. Oddly enough, Hecate didn't seem to mind.  
"Anyway," Artemis said, leaping gracefully from her stone seat. "This is your quest, Thalia. Find the cause of the disturbance and eliminate it."  
"Yes, my lady." The Huntress replied. "Where do I begin?"  
"Hogwarts." Hecate answered. "A fine academy of magic arts. You will meet my daughter, Miranda, who will explain current situation to you. Balthazar will go with you, as a source of magic knowledge. Ask him any questions you wish."  
Balthazar, currently lifting Gale on his cane, nodded.  
"Of course, mother."  
"Now, Thalia Grace," Hecate said. "May we talk in private?"

"Now, I need you decision, Thalia Grace." Hecate said, when they moved away from Artemis and Balthazar.  
"About what?" Thalia replied. "I will accept the quest, my lady. What else is there to choose?"  
Hecate raised her pale arms. The three gateways she'd come from - north, east, and west - began to swirl with Mist. A flurry of black-and-white images glowed and flickered, like the old silent movies.  
In the western doorway, Thalia found herself in Camp Half-Blood, sitting under the large pine tree which was once her body. She was happy, the day was nice and warm, but one thing was strange. She didn't have her silvery aura around, nor the lieutenant's diadem. Then, she saw a man approaching her. She couldn't see his face, but he didn't have orange Camp T-shirt. They kissed.  
In the gateway to the east, Thalia saw a large group of teenagers, she have never met before. They were running away from hooded people, shooting green beams of light. It was obviously a war. Magic war.  
The images in the northern doorway were even worse. Good news, she was a Huntress in that vision. Bad news - she was dead. Her body bifurcated, limbs twisted, eyes wide open. Then, she saw other body, lying next to hers. And another one. Sadly, she recognized those two bushes of jet-black hair. Her cousins. Percy and Nico.  
"Choices," said Hecate. "You stand at the crossroads, Thalia Grace. And I am the goddess of crossroads."  
Thalia felt the taste of blood coming to her mouth again.  
"The past is close to the surface in this place," Hecate said. "In ancient times, two great roads met here. News was exchanged. Markets were held. Friends met, and enemies fought. Entire armies had to choose a direction. Crossroads are always places of decision."  
"Like… like Janus." Thalia remembered her cousin, Percy Jackson, talking about his adventures in the Labyrinth of Deadalus, when he met the god Janus. After hearing all that, Thalia trusted the wisdom of the gods about as much as she trusted the slot machines in Vegas.  
The goddess of magic made a disgusted hiss.  
"Janus and his doorways. He would have you believe that all choices are black or white, yes or no, in or out. In fact, it's not that simple. Whenever you reach the crossroads, there are always at least three ways to go… four, if you count going backward. You are at such a crossing now, Thalia."  
Thalia looked again at each swirling gateway: not being a Huntress anymore, a magic war, she and her friends dying.  
"All the choices are bad."  
"All choices have risks," the goddess corrected. "But what is your goal?"  
"My goal?!" Thalia waved helplessly at the doorways. "None of these."  
"You could go backward," Hecate suggested, "stay at the safe Camp Half-Blood. Living in peace... but, you would have to revoke your status as a Lieutenant of Artemis."  
"So…what are you saying?"  
Hecate stepped to the nearest torch. She scooped a handful of fire and sculpted the flames until she was holding a miniature relief map of a castle. Giant castle with many towers.  
"You could go east." Hecate let her finger drift away from her fiery map. "It means accepting the quest, co-operating with a man... however, if you do that, there will be war. A war between wizards. Lives will be lost."  
"Death everywhere." Thalia said.  
Hecate traced her finger along the tops of the fiery towers. "You could go north. This means gathering all the demigods from Camp and aiding the wizards. That way, the battle will be much quicker, but there will be a lot more causalities. As you could see, you will be one of them."  
"I noticed," Thalia muttered.  
"Ironically, choosing the longer war might be the safest option. I foresee, that all of you would survive. The war will be longer, and it is possible that the wizards from Hogwarts will be victorious." Hecate smiled. Her finger crossed her miniature castle, leaving a glowing white line in the red flames. "There is a path in the eastern choice. It goes through the village known as Hogsmeade. Remember, this must be protected."  
The goddess made a wide loop…to the top of the castle, then down towards the big lake and finally to one of the buildings in a village.  
"I can obscure your progress somewhat, but the success of your journey will depend on you, Hazel Levesque. You must learn to use the Mist." Hecate said.  
"Huh?" Thalia crooked her head to the side. "I _know _how to use the Mist already. Chiron taught me."  
Hecate extinguished her map of Italy. She flicked her hand at the black dog. Mist collected around the Labrador until she was completely hidden in a cocoon of white. The fog cleared with an audible poof! Where the dog had stood was a disgruntled-looking black kitten with golden eyes.  
"Meow," it complained.  
"I am the goddess of the Mist," Hecate explained. "I am responsible for keeping the veil that separates the world of the gods from the world of mortals. My children learn to use the Mist to their advantage, to create illusions or influence the minds of mortals. Of course, you are able to use it, through Chiron; a very experienced teacher. However, his knowledge about is limited. You don't know everything."  
"But…" Thalia looked at the cat. She knew it was actually the black Labrador, but she couldn't convince herself. The cat seemed so real. "Can I do that."  
"I will assign you a teacher." Hecate said. "My daughter, Miranda. She, Balthazar and my other son, Alabaster, are something you can call the Big Three of Magic. Each of them represent different aspect, needed to master the mystic arts: Alabaster is power; Balthazar - knowledge and Miranda is the embodiment of talent. You will meet her in Hogwarts. When you reach the school, you will meet a formidable enemy. She cannot be overcome by strength or sword. You alone can defeat her, and you will require magic."  
"Who?" Thalia croaked. "Who is this enemy?"  
"I will not speak her name," Hecate said. "That would alert her to your presence before you are ready to face her. Go east, Thalia. As you travel, practice summoning the Mist. When you arrive, seek out Miranda. She will lead you to the correct path"  
"I don't understand."  
"Meow," the kitten complained.  
"Yes, yes, Hecuba." The goddess flicked her hand again, and the cat disappeared. The black Labrador was back in its place.  
"You will understand, Thalia," the goddess promised. "From time to time, I will send Gale to check on your progress."  
The polecat hissed, its beady red eyes full of malice.  
"Wonderful," Thalia muttered.  
"Before you reach Hogwarts, you must be prepared," Hecate said. "If you succeed, then perhaps we will meet again…for the final battle."  
"... I understand." Thalia said. "I'll go east."  
Hecate snapped her fingers, and all of the gateways turned dark. The Mist dissolved, the images gone.  
"We all face choices," the goddess said. "When Kronos arose the second time, I made a mistake. I supported him. I had grown tired of being ignored by the so-called major gods. Despite my years of faithful service, they mistrusted me, refused me a seat in their hall…"  
The polecat Gale barked angrily.  
"It does not matter anymore." The goddess sighed. "I have made peace again with Olympus. Now, I must deal with the problems in my own domain. And, unfortunately, I can't do it alone. Every bit of my attention must be directed to keeping the remaining Mist active. So now it is your choice, Thalia Grace. Will you trust me… or will you shun me, as the Olympian gods have done too often?"  
Blood roared in Thalia's ears. Could she trust the dark goddess? Sorry, no. She didn't much like Hecate's dog or her gassy polecat, either.  
But she also knew she couldn't let her friends die in some kind of twisted magic war.  
"I'll go east," she said. "We'll protect your secret passage."  
Hecate nodded, the slightest hint of satisfaction in her face. "You have chosen well, though the path will not be easy."  
"I know." Thalia stated. "After all, I'm taking a man on my quest."  
The storm howled, the black walls of the funnel cloud swirling faster.  
"Interesting," Hecate said, as if this quest was an unexpected result in a science experiment. "That would be magic worth seeing."  
A wave of darkness blotted out the world. When Thalia's sight returned, the storm, the goddess, and her minions were gone. Even Artemis disappeared. Thalia stood on the hillside in the morning sunlight, alone in the ruins except for the golden deer, who looked at her with curiosity, and Balthazar Blake, sitting on a boulder, twirling his cane happily.  
"Hmm... So the briefing is over?" he smiled.  
"Yes." Thalia said. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

**A/N.: Ha-ha~! Lovely! Here. We. Go! Thalia Time. As she is my favorite demigoddess, I think she needs some fun. It will be set during Year Five of Harry Potter, as "The Order of the Phoenix", after "The Goblet of Fire", is my favorite book.  
****As you may have noticed, I took this from "The House of Hades", because I thought Hecate's plot was perfect for Thalia's mission. Oh, I have a feeling it'd be so great~! Also, expect soon an update for "The Eye of Chronos". With **_**The Day of the Doctor**_** watched (the best episode ever!), I'm pumped for the new ideas. Ready? Good. Allons-y!**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER ONE**

As soon as the goddesses disappeared, Thalia took a deep breath and released all the tension she had. Hecate showed her some really terrible future. Although she called it _making a choice_, each one of them ended badly. Option A: Thalia loses her status as a Huntress and possibly falls in love. Option B: Hecate's beloved magical society gets swallowed in a terrible, bloody war. Option C: Thalia sacrifices herself and her demigod friends.  
"No flying." she said finally, when they were walking down the hill.  
"Pardon?" Balthazar Blake lifted his eyebrow. The scars around the eyes were peeking from behind his sunglasses, tempting Thalia to ask about their origin.  
"We need to get to England, right?" she responded. "No matter how we do it, we do. not. fly."  
A moment of silence passed by, in which Thalia grew more and more anxious. What is that guy thinking right now? Making fun of her? Thinking she is insane?  
"Fine." Balthazar finally responded. "Follow me."  
As they reached the foothill, the sorcerer hit the ground with the tip of his cane. A swirling, milky-white clouds of fog appeared and spread around evenly, forming a circle. Then, the Mist collapsed the ground, making a whirlpool.  
"Have you ever went on a Shadow Travel?" he asked. Thalia nodded, as she was _forced _into one, along with Percy and Nico. It was Persephone, the lady of the Underworld, who decided to bring the three heroes and made them chase after the thief of Hades' Sword.  
"Good." he said. "Because I'm doing this spell for the first time."  
Before Thalia could protest or say anything, she felt a push and the thick fog swallowed her. The last thing she heard was Balthazar Blake yelling _Geronimo!_, before shadows covered her entirely.

"I'm... gonna... kill you!" Thalia hissed, catching some air, while trying to stand, which was difficult, considering her legs felt like jelly now.  
After being pushed into a giant Mist whirlpool, she knew finally how a laundry in a washing machine feels. She was being thrown around in a narrow tunnel; images, sounds and smells were mixing together. It was even _worse _than flying!  
Balthazar Blake, on the other hand, was standing still, not even flinching, while emerging from the white whirlpool. After that, he just casually took a cigarette, placed it in his mouth and it lit itself. Then, he brushed off some Mist from his shoulders and smiled.  
"Was it good for you as well?" he laughed. Thalia shot him a death glare so good, Thanatos himself would be proud. Balthazar saw that and raised his hands a little, saying _Okay, I give up_.  
"Anyway," Thalia said, getting a proper balance. "Where are we?"  
She looked around. They were inside a building. Old, wooden hut which was surprisingly clean and well-maintained.  
"Soho Square." Balthazar explained. "a lovely square in with a park and garden area. If you want more details, we are in a distinctive half-timbered gardener's hut, located in the center of the square. During the summer, it hosts open-air free concerts."  
Sounds nice, Thalia thought. Maybe she should take the girls here someday.  
"Very well, let's go." The sorcerer opened the door and led them into the Soho Square.

As they went out of the Square into the Greek Street, which Thalia found quite ironic. Although, Balthazar assured her that there are some pretty good restaurants there. After few minutes of walking, they cut through Moor Street and walked into Charing Cross Road. A couple more steps, and they stopped before bookshop and record store.  
"Here we are." Balthazar said. "_The Leaky Cauldron_."  
Thalia thought she was joking, when he pointed at the space between the two shops. But after a while, she noticed that something was shimmering. The Mist, she thought, and after a moment of concentration the illusion was dispelled.  
"Very good." Balthazar smiled and Thalia finally noticed the pub he was pointing at. It looked like a regular, broken-down old shop. The sign for _the Leaky Cauldron_ was a stylized design of a cauldron on a black board. However, as Thalia found out, the outside was only a clever deception.  
Inside the pub, it was dark and shabby, with a bar and a number of tables in the shadows of the corners. The upper floor was reached by way of a handsome wooden staircase. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old barman, who was quite bald and looked like a gummy walnut. When he noticed them entering, he excused his partner and bowed down towards Thalia and Balthazar.  
"Master Blake!" he greeted the sorcerer. "What pleasure! And who might your charming companion be?"  
"That's Thalia, Tom." Balthazar replied. "We need a place to stay for a few days."  
"Ah, I see." the bartender nodded. "A big room then?"  
"Two single ones." Thalia corrected him instantly. Tom flinched, hearing her stern voice and looked at Balthazar, who just nodded in confirmation.  
"But bring dinner for two to mine. Shepherd's Pie for me." he asked and the bartender bowed again and looked at Thalia.  
"Oh... umm... I don't know." she said, assuming Tom was asking for her dinner "I'll guess I go with what he has."  
"Very well." Tom bowed down again. "Room 14 and 15. Last rooms on the right."  
"Thanks, Tom." Balthazar smiled and went towards the stairs. Thalia just took one more look and followed him.

In stark contrast to the grubby downstairs of the pub, there were some unexpectedly pleasant rooms upstairs. They contained comfortable beds, highly polished oak furniture, a crackling fire which was always burning in the grate to welcome the visitor to their lodgings, and, in Thalia's case, a talking mirror which didn't hesitate to point out her 'Lady Dracula-like appearance'. This thing would go crazy in Aphrodite's Cabin.  
Shepherd's Pie turned out to be a meat pie with the crust of mashed potatoes and melted cheese. Not bad, Thalia thought, a filling like that could be used as a cheeseburger substitute.  
"Tomorrow, we need to go shopping." Balthazar stated. When Thalia went to his room, to get dinner, she noticed his change of appearance. Instead of frock coat, he got now woolen, black one, reaching to his ankles; it looked more like a cape or a cloak with sleeves. Freshly shaved, with new sunglasses and silver chain around his neck, he looked like a typical gothic/rock musician.  
"Shopping?" Thalia repeated, ending her piece of the Pie. "Shopping for what?"  
"Oh, your typical stuff..." he replied, pouring some tea. "Wands, robes, books, cauldron, potion ingredients etc."  
"Wait, wait, wait!" Thalia almost choked on her drink. "Those are no _typical stuff_. It's completely black magic to me, no pun intended."  
Balthazar chuckled.  
"Good one." he said. "But you're right. Mother ordered you to train your Mist skills, am I wrong?"  
Thalia nodded and Balthazar sighed.  
"Of course, the more magic users the better for her." he muttered. "No matter. If you get to master Mist Illusions, you can pretend to cast spells and the mirage will make the effect. Also, teaching you how to make Mist Forms, would do some good."  
"Mist Forms?" Thalia repeated. Balthazar nodded and wagged his fingers above the table. A small puff of Mist escaped from his palm and condensed into a long, narrow shape. Then, it started to boil, like a levitating soup.  
"The Mist uses Illusion to obscure Reality..." he explained. "However, with proper skills... Illusion can _become _Reality."  
As he said that, Thalia noticed that the boiling soup was gaining shape and form of a dagger. Beautiful, silver dagger which grip was reminding her of Hecate's torches.  
"A weapon weaved from air... Tell me, is it real?" The sorcerer asked, and let the dagger fall. As it touched the wooden table, it evaporated into a puff of smoke.  
"Not really." Thalia muttered. Balthazar repeated the process. Same finger wag, same amount of the Mist, same dagger. This time, he controlled its flight and the weapon made a sharp turn, hitting Thalia's Shepherd's Pie. The food splashed around, making some mess and the dagger remained still, stuck in a wooden table.  
"Well, I believe it _is_..." Balthazar smiled. "And so will everybody, if you convince them properly. The magic battle is the battle of willpower. The more convincing and persuasive you are, the stronger the effect of your spell will be."  
Thalia nodded.  
"Is there anything else I should know?"  
"Actually, yes…" Balthazar said. "Few terms you need to adapt. As we have mortals, the magic community has _muggles, _used to describe your regular, non-magical people. I guess we, the demigods, don't count, since our life is definitely not regular. Then, there's the thing about blood purity. Some wizards are really sensitive on this point. The safest option would be to say, that you're a half-blood…"  
"Oh, the irony." Thalia smiled.  
"I know, right? Anyway, claiming to be pure-blood can give you a label of snotty, rich, spoiled brat, although not always. Then, there's also muggle-born or… more disgustingly… the mudblood. A magical person born to non-magical parents, inheriting abilities from grandparents or above. Some pure-blood families find that disgusting and repulsive."  
"Weird and stupid." Thalia stated. "But okay, I'll fit in… although I'm not going to offend any person born to a non-magical person. No way."  
"Chivalrous and kind. What a rare trait in a Huntress…" Balthazar muttered.  
"What was that?" Thalia frowned and some sparks of electricity danced around her hair. "What did you just say?"  
"Oh, nothing, really." he replied. "Just the fact, that Artemis' girls are known for their selfishness…"  
"Well, if the _men_ weren't so full of themselves, we wouldn't need to isolate them!" Thalia hissed.  
Balthazar blinked a couple of times and his face went a little pale.  
"Oh gods," he huffed, massaging his temples. "Oh gods, Thalia, I'm sorry… it's her again…"  
"Who?" Thalia snapped, crossing her arms. Balthazar grabbed a flower from the vase on the window and waved his hand around the petals.  
"**Fragrantia Floris****… ****Meis Amica Vigore, Vitalitate, Aura Salutare****.**** Refectio**." he muttered. A pleasant scent filled the entire room. Suddenly, Thalia felt like all the anger is leaving her. She didn't want to fight the sorcerer anymore, she felt calm, relaxed and refreshed.  
"Wha… what just happened?"  
"I'm sorry. I didn't feel her presence and it left me full of openings." Balthazar explained.  
"Who? Who did this?" Thalia said.  
"Ah, never mind that. You're probably gonna meet her soon." Balthazar said. "But, since The Recovery is active, we can repel her damn presence."  
Thalia stood up and adjusted her quiver.  
"So? Tomorrow we start?"  
"Yes. Don't worry, shopping is just a simple trip. It'll be harder later on."  
"I'm looking forward to it."

* * *

**A/N.: Okay guys, here we are with chapter two of our (almost) exciting journey of Thalia in Hogwarts. Next time we go shopping in Diagon Alley and jump onto Hogwarts Express. Now, question of the day: **Who do you think the mysterious _she_, who haunts Balthazar, is? And what does she want from him?  
**Tune in next time to find out!**


End file.
